Failure was not an option for Birmingham jeweller Fei Liu
Birmingham jeweller Fei Liu is riding the crest of a wave, writes Diane Parkes.
Birmingham jeweller Fei Liu is riding a wave at the moment. He has gained a host of national and international awards, his pieces have been showcased on celebrities and he is hot property in fashion and design circles.
His work is on sale in high end stores such as Harrods, Selfridges and Liberty’s and last year he opened his first exclusive shop – in Beijing.
At the same time he has been working on his next designer collection and managing the launch of his latest cuff links range in the US.
Fei’s rise to recognition is a success story based on determination, hard work and a deep faith in his own ability.
Chinese-born Fei came to the UK in 1998 to study silversmithing and jewellery design at Birmingham School of Jewellery – and has been based in the city ever since.
Although 35-year-old Fei, who both lives and works in the Jewellery Quarter, is the first to admit it took him a while to fall for Birmingham.
“I landed at Heathrow and was travelling to Birmingham and seeing all these green fields and thinking have I come here for jewellery or for farming?” he jokes.
“Then I came into Digbeth coach station, which was horrible at the time, and took a taxi to Bearwood. And I remember driving along Broad Street and asking the taxi driver if we would go through the city centre and he said we just had.”
Fei had spent two years trying to master English and learn about English culture before he landed at Heathrow but he initially found it very difficult to settle.
“That first year at the jewellery school was torturing,” he says. “People couldn’t understand me and I would be sitting in classes not understanding what was being said. I didn’t like what they were teaching me as they seemed to be teaching me to be a craftsman and I wanted to be a designer.
“At the same time I was doing three part-time jobs. I would be at college in the day then I would go to work in a Vietnamese takeaway from 4pm to 3am where I have peeled more onions than I ever want to see again. I was also a silver service water and a waiter in a normal restaurant.
“Then I would be up at 6am reading loudly from my BBC textbook to improve my English.
“Now, when I talk to students and they ask me how I did it I say it was because I never went to the pub. I just went to college and worked.”
